Jailing Iran’s Internet, one user at a time

For the Iranian government, even text messages have become an alleged crime.

This September, the Revolutionary Guards arrested 11 people in the province of Shiraz for sending joke messages through the Viber application, poking fun at the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini.

Arrestees were later forced to make television confessions. Now, officials are using this recent texting fad as an excuse to call for more Internet controls.

With accusations of conspirac...